


been wastin' all my time

by ThatMerlinFangirl



Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Fandom AU, Flirting, Fluff, IMs, M/M, Ridiculous usernames, Romance, The Bunghole Squad being nerds, Tumblr, alternate universe - no aliens, fandomception
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 06:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12550736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatMerlinFangirl/pseuds/ThatMerlinFangirl
Summary: In which the Bunghole Squad are all members of the small but fierce Up All Night fandom and Charlie is hopelessly crushing on Matteusz.





	been wastin' all my time

**PolishGiraffe99**  
Help me  
I think I've gone blind

**princeofsheffield**  
Are you okay?!

**PolishGiraffe99**  
No  
My heart  
I can't take it

**princeofsheffield**  
Matti, I'm seriously worried.  
What is it?

**PolishGiraffe99**  
[4 images attached]

**princeofsheffield**  
Matteusz.  
These are pictures of Jacob Radcliffe.

**PolishGiraffe99**  
What???  
I am personally victimised by that man's attractiveness

**princeofsheffield**  
I thought you were in trouble!

**PolishGiraffe99**  
Sorry Charlie  
I was just teasing  
Charlie?  
Charlie  
Charlieeeeeeeeeeeee  
Plzzzzzzzzz  
Talk to me

**princeofsheffield**  
I am being offended.

**PolishGiraffe99**  
He lives!

**princeofsheffield**  
Fine, I forgive you.

**PolishGiraffe99**  
Yayyy  
:D

**princeofsheffield**  
:-)

\---

It was strange to think that, barely three months ago, Charlie had had no idea what a fandom was.

He had had no idea that fanfiction existed. He had thought that a ship was a vessel that travelled by water. He hadn't known April or Ram or Tanya or Matteusz. He had barely even known what Tumblr was.

Now, he couldn't imagine his life without it.

Without Up All Night, or Stanton or the constant bickering with his online friends. Every time he clicked on the hashtag, or his phone pinged with notifications when the comments come in on his latest artwork, he felt a tiny thrill, a little adrenaline rush, that he had this secret from his parents. That this was one aspect of his life that they couldn't control.

(He had been painting his toenails blue for months now, hiding them under ankle socks so that his mother wouldn't see.)

When they had first moved to London, Charlie was the loneliest that he'd ever been in his life. He couldn't make friends at his new school - he didn't know how. He didn't know how to talk to people, how to swear and use sarcasm, how to smoke or wear shoes that weren't brown Oxfords, how to just be a normal teenager.

That was when he had first started watching Up All Night.

He'd been lying in bed one evening, wallowing deep in self-pity and browsing online for something to take his mind off things. A show about an alien trying to fit in with humans spoke volumes to him, so he'd clicked on it, only intending to half-watch an episode or two.

Hours later, his battery almost drained, Charlie was sobbing over the series finale, muffling his tears with the pillow.

It was just so _personal_ , like it had been made for him. As if the writers had peered into his head and then put every little problem down on paper. He saw himself in the characters, in their deepest fears and their odd little quirks. How could a TV show do this? How could what was essentially moving images - not even real ones - make him feel so many things?

Charlie was hooked. He had scoured the Internet for more content, and discovered the small but passionate fanbase that had established itself on Tumblr.  
Scrolling through the stream of pictures and text posts, he had come across one of Matteusz's gif sets (images taken from the opening montage in episode 3). Then, impressed with his talent, he had looked for his other posts. Then he had found actual pictures of Matteusz.

He'd made an account without thinking twice and well, the rest was history.

\---

**StrikerSingh**  
[image attached]  
guys guysguYsss  
I found the cafe they filmed at for ep 3!!!!  
U can still smell Freddy Edris's aftershave

**theridiculousnerd**  
Omg!!  
Y can't I live in London?? :((

**StrikerSingh**  
lol  
Too bad Tan

**theridiculousnerd**  
f off Ram u heartless bastard

**April_** **showers**  
This is supposed to be a nice group chat guys.

**princeofsheffield**  
I agree.  
April is also the only one of you who knows how to use correct grammar.

**StrikerSingh**  
posh nob  
Jk  
Love u really

**PolishGiraffe99**  
He is mine  
Do not touch him Ram

**StrikerSingh**  
yeah  
i'll def be reaching through the screen and stranglin him  
U watch me

**PolishGiraffe99**  
I will have to kill u

**princeofsheffield**  
Matteusz, please don't go around killing people.

**PolishGiraffe99**  
Just joking  
But u would be worth it

**princeofsheffield**  
That's very sweet of you to say. :-)

**theridiculousnerd**  
Jeez  
Can u 2 stop flirting 4 five seconds

**princeofsheffield**  
We are not flirting!

**theridiculousnerd**  
April tell them they're flirting

**April_** **showers**  
I'm writing  
Tell them yourself

**StrikerSingh**  
New chap ???

**April_showers**  
Yeah  
It's not working though  
Like  
It won't FLOW  
Getting really fed up :/

**StrikerSingh**  
Aww  
Dont worry  
Ur amazing

**princeofsheffield**  
April, everything you write is wonderful.

**theridiculousnerd**  
Plus u have a fantastic beta reader

**PolishGiraffe99**  
I wonder who it could be...

**theridiculousnerd**  
Shut up

**PolishGiraffe99**  
Just saying

**princeofsheffield**  
I got at least three requests on Tumblr for artwork of 'The History Teacher Fic'.

**April_showers**  
Why does everyone call it that?

**StrikerSingh**  
cos no one can remember your 6k word title  
srsly

**April_showers**  
It's not that long!!

**theridiculousnerd**  
It's like a whole book by itself

**PolishGiraffe99**  
Lol

**April_showers**  
I hate all of you.  
Not you Charlie, you're actually a nice human being.

**StrikerSingh**  
'Human' might b pushing it

**princeofsheffield**  
Hey!

\---

His parents were both out when he got home from school, but Charlie was used to that. He really only ever saw them in the evenings. If he was lucky. (Perhaps that wasn't quite the right word.)

But he still did his homework first, because otherwise his mother would be cross.

He wrote at lightning speed, muddling through English and Maths, resisting the urge to check his emails like he had all day. Just before he had gone to bed last night, he had posted his fan art of April's OC, 'history teacher extraordinaire' Maleia Jordan. They weren't allowed to have their phones on in school, but he had felt it vibrating in his pocket throughout the day, each time with that little thrill of satisfaction.

As soon as he had finished, Charlie opened up his laptop, messing up his password twice in his haste to log in. He had six new emails.

**April_showers** left a comment on your work...

**PolishGiraffe99** left a comment on your work...  
****

**theridiculousnerd** left a comment on your work...

**StrikerSingh** left a comment on your work...

**mayo'halloran** left a comment on your work...

**April_showers**  left a comment on your work...

He was anxious to see if he had done an accurate representation of Maleia, so he looked at April's comments first.

_OMG YOU DREW MALEIA!!!_  
_Aagggghh i am literally squeaking right now eee it's so GOOOOD ok i'll comment again when I am coherenbbhh_

_Ok, I'm alive. HOLY CRAP. Charlie, this is so good! Almost exactly how I imagined her. And the details!!! The mug!!! The freckles!!! ThANK YOU! Love you so so so much :DDDD_

Charlie beamed as he typed out his reply. He'd felt it was the least he could do for her since she had helped so much with - well, everything he supposed.

Almost everything.

He read through the others. More praise, less gushing but still heartfelt, from Tanya. Ram's comment contained a shout-out to April, as always. Another account, one that he recognised but didn't follow, remarking on the shading. And Matteusz's.

_I honestly think you could make anything look beautiful in your drawings. This is amazing :)))_

Charlie felt fairly certain that he was blushing.

He took a screenshot of the comment and saved it as 'Matteusz17' to the file marked with a single heart. Something he was sure wasn't usually done, even in the most insane of fandoms (he'd received many disturbing warnings about the Supernatural community), but at this point, as much as he was trying to deny his hopeless crush on a boy who was a million miles and a glitchy screen away, there was no stopping him.

_Thank_ _you_ he typed in response. _And I think you could make anyone feel better with one of your comments._

"Charles!"

And there was his mother's voice, dragging him over barbed wire and stones back to reality from downstairs.

Charlie allowed himself a sigh, small and weighed down with sadness.

Then he sat up straight, slipping his mask of perfect indifference back on, and closed his laptop. (He deleted his Internet history first of course - he wasn't convinced that his mother didn't check it whilst he was gone.) Another awkward dinner and stiff, empty talk of school and politics awaited him.

\---

**PolishGiraffe99**  
Are you okay?

**princeofsheffield**  
Yes, I'm fine.  
Why wouldn't I be?

**PolishGiraffe99**  
You seemed sad in your message  
I wanted to check if you were alright  
Is everything okay with your family?

**princeofsheffield**  
Everything's fine, don't worry. :-)  
You?

**PolishGiraffe99**  
New artwork from you and a phone call from my babcia in one day?  
I'm flying Charlie :D

**princeofsheffield**  
Well I'm very happy for you. :-)  
Goodnight Matteusz.

**PolishGiraffe99**  
Goodnight my Prince

**princeofsheffield**  
I'm not actually a prince Matti.

**Author's Note:**

> Soo... what did you think?  
> I may or may not continue this, it's really a matter of a) time, b) inspiration, c) the fact that this has no concrete plot whatsoever. But I hope it was enjoyable!


End file.
